Bowl shaped hoop skirt



March 10, 1964 G. w. H. STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet l M M A J a m1 March 10, 1964 e. w. H. STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5. 26

March 10, 1964 G. w. H- STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 590 779Wilma: Hai a: izFI FZZE United States Patent 3,123,833 BUWL SHAPED H001SKIRT Geoffrey William Hedges Stevens, Merryway, 159 Mytchett Road,Mytchett, Aldershot, England Filed Feb. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 90,264 3Claims. (Cl. 2216) This invention relates to skirts and moreparticularly to skirts having maximum fullness at a level between thewaist and hem thereof.

In a skirt in which maximum fullness occurs at the hem, the form whichthe skirt takes can be controlled simply by the provision of a stiffenedor hooped petticoat. However, where the fullness of the hem is reducedto a value below that of the maximum fullness of the skirt, furthermeans for controlling the shape of the skirt beyond a stiffened orhooped petticoat are required.

According to the present invention a skirt having its maximum fullnessat a level between the waist and the hem thereof comprises an outerskirt and inner skirt means adapted to impart the fullness to the outerskirt and to support the hem of the outer skirt at a predetermined levelin relation to the waist thereof.

In one form of the invention, appropriate to skirts which arecomparatively light in weight and in which the difference in fullnessbetween the hem and the level of maximum fullness is comparativelysmall, the inner skirt means comprise a petticoat which is adaptedclosely to fit to the hips of the wearer and to impart fullness to theouter skirt and is attached to the outer skirt at or near the hemthereof and, further, is of such length as to be, when in use, held intension by the weight of the outer skirt acting thereon.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with referenceto the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the components of a fitted hip yoke of the outerskirt;

FIGURE 2 illustrates the assembled position of the components shown inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a detail of the mode of assembling the hip yoke;

FIGURES 4 and 5 show alternative panels from which a lower portion ofthe outer skirt is formed;

FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate the manner of attaching the lower outer skirtportion to the hip yoke;

FIGURE 8 illustrates a petticoat of the skirt;

FIGURES 8a, 8b and 8c are details of the petticoat of FIGURE 8;

FIGURES 9 and 10 show alternative ways of attaching the petticoat to theouter skirt.

In the drawings, like parts are given the same reference numerals.

A skirt in accordance with the invention comprises an outer skirt 1 anda petticoat 30.

The outer skirt 1 is formed with an upper or hip yoke portion 2 and alower portion 3. The hip yoke portion 2 is formed from five panels,namely front panel 4, rear panels 5 and side panels 6 which are seamedtogether to form a generally frusto-conically shaped yoke (see FIGURE 2)having a longitudinal opening 7 at the rear thereof in which is fitted asliding clasp fastener. For fitting of the yoke to the hips of thewearer there are formed in the side panels 6 darts 8 opposite edges ofwhich are seamed together as shown in FIGURE 2. The darts 8 extend toabout half the depth of the side panels.

When the panels of the hip yoke have been assembled a band It) for theinside waist portion of the yoke is added by placing the right sides ofthe yoke and band Ice.

together and forming a seam 11 about one half of an inch from the upperedge of the yoke. A lining 12 is provided which, suitably, is assembledfrom panels similar to those shown in FIGURE 1 and is sewn to the bandIt by a seam 13.

At this stage the lower portion of the outer skirt is attached to theyoke as hereinafter described.

The lower portion 3 is formed from a rectangular panel 14 of fabricprovided along a lower edge 15 thereof with ten equally spacedalternately long and short darts 16 each of which when sewn closes thelower edge of the panel by about one inch. Side edges 17 of the panel 14are brought together to form a centre back seam of the lower skirtportion 3 which is then attached near its upper edge 18 to the yoke 2 atabout 1 /2 inches from the lower edge of the yoke by a seam 19. Duringattachment of the portion 3 to the yoke the edge 13 is evenly gatheredon a slack stitch made about A inch from the upper or selvedge edge 18of the panel 14. The effect of this is to impart maximum fullness to theskirt at a level somewhat below the hip yoke.

After attachment of the portion 3 to the yoke, the latter is finished bysecuring thereof to the lining 12 by a seam it).

As an alternative to the panel 14 the lower skirt portion 3 can beformed from six panels 25 one of which is illustrated in FIGURE 5. Thepanels 25 each having an upper edge 26, a lower edge 27 and curved sideedges 28, the latter edges being seamed to corresponding side edges ofsimilar adjacent panels. The panels 25 when assembled provide the skirtportion 3 with maximum fullness somewhat below the upper edges 26 of thepanels. The skirt portion 3 is then attached to the hip yoke in themanner described for the panel 14 save that no gathering of the edges 26is required.

The petticoat 34 comprises an upper hip yoke portion 31 formed from sixpanels 31a shaped as shown in FIGURE 80. Provided at the upper edge ofthe portion 31 is an elasticated waist band 32 which imparts resiliencein a direction circumferentially of the wearer.

A lower portion 33 of the petticoat is formed in either of the waysdescribed in connection with the lower portion 3 of the outer skirt. InFIGURE 8 the portion 33 is shown as formed from a panel similar to panel14.

At vertically spaced intervals the petticoat incorporates fivehorizontally disposed hoops 34 of diameter determined by the diameter ofthe petticoat at the relevant locations.

The uppermost hoop 34 is disposed at the base of the yoke portion 31 byfolding over the lower edge of the yoke portion and forming a seam 35 toprovide a tunnel 36 in which the hoop 34 is disposed. The three upperhoops below the uppermost hoop 34 are each disposed in a tunnel 37formed by a seam 38. The lowermost hoop is either incorporated in thepetticoat in the same manner as the hoops thereabove or is attached tothe skirt during the joining of the petticoat to the outer skirt.

To attach the petticoat 36 to the outer skirt 1, the petticoat is placedinside the skirt with the hoop tunnels facing the outer skirt. Thepetticoat is of such length that it hangs some two inches shorter thanthe outer skirt when the elastic waist band of the petticoat is levelwith the top edge of the outer skirt yoke. The bottom edges of thepetticoat and outer skirt are then brought together and turned back (seeFIGURE 9) to form a hem into which the lowermost hoop is inserted andretained by seams 4t) and 41.

As an alternative to that illustrated in FIGURE 9, the outer skirt andpetticoat may be detachably secured together as shown in FIGURE 10according to which lacing strips 42 and 43 are sewn to the bottom edgesrespectively of the outer skirt and petticoat. The lacing strips areformed each with a row of apertures 44 and secured together by a lacingmember 45. It will be appreciated that when this expedient is employed,the lowermost hoop 34 is first secured near the bottom edge of thepetticoat.

The hoops 34 of the petticoat, preferably, comprise nylon or polypropylene wires of diameters of the order of one to one and a halfmillimeters, the diameters of the uppermost hoops being greater than thelower ones. However in the case of heavy skirts the upper hoops may becovered with steel wire or strip.

Instead of having hoops in the petticoat the latter may be formed in themanner described with suitably stiffened fabric.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that instead of hipyokes for the outer skirt and petticoat there may be used plain Waisthands.

When in use the petticoat is held in tension by the Weight of the outerskirt acting thereon and in this Way the lower edge of the outer skirtis held at a desirable level, that is to say a level above that which itwould assume in the absence of the petticoat. The petticoat thus servesboth to impart fullness to the outer skirt and to locate the lower edgethereof.

This form of skirt is particularly useful where the fullness range ofthe skirt is not excessive and where the outer skirt material iscomparatively light in weight.

It will, of course be understood that the outer skirt of a skirt inaccordance with this invention may be attached to or formed in one witha bodice portion.

What I claim is:

1. A bowl-shaped skirt comprising an outer skirt member having a waistportion, a hem portion and a body portion which extends between thewaist portion and the hem portion and which has its maximumcircumferential measurement above the hem portion, an inner skirt memberhaving a waist section, a hem section and a body section which extendsbetween the waist section and the hem sec tion and is of the samegeneral shape as the body portion of the outer skirt member, means forstiffening the body section of the inner skirt member in Zonestransverse to the axis of the skirt, and fastening means securing thehem portion of the outer skirt member to the hem section of the innerskirt member, the length of the inner skirt member being so related tothat of the outer skirt member that, in use of the skirt, the innerskirt member is held in tension by the weight of the outer skirt memberacting upon it thereby enabling the body section of the inner skirtmemher to displace outwardly the body portion of the outer skirt memberto impart thereto the desired bowl shape.

2. A skirt as claimed in claim 1, in which the inner skirt member isformed from unstiffened fabric and wherein said means for stiffening thebody section of the inner skirt member comprise hoops which when theskirt is in use are disposed substantially horizontally at verticallyspaced locations.

3. A skirt as set forth in claim 1, further characterized by cooperatingdetachable securement means on the hem section of the inner skirt memberand the hem portion of the outer skirt member for releasably fasteningsaid hem section to said hem portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS999,132 Suddick July 25, 1911 2,438,804 Hardie Mar. 30, 1948 2,798,224Jennings July 9, 1957 2,843,851 Tate July 22, 1958 2,996,725 WilliamsAug. 22, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 695,446 Great Britain Aug. 12, 1953

1. A BOWL-SHAPED SKIRT COMPRISING AN OUTER SKIRT MEMBER HAVING A WAISTPORTION, A HEM PORTION AND A BODY PORTION WHICH EXTENDS BETWEEN THEWAIST PORTION AND THE HEM PORTION AND WHICH HAS ITS MAXIMUMCIRCUMFERENTIAL MEASUREMENT ABOVE THE HEM PORTION, AN INNER SKIRT MEMBERHAVING A WAIST SECTION, A HEM SECTION AND A BODY SECTION WHICH EXTENDSBETWEEN THE WAIST SECTION AND THE HEM SECTION AND IS OF THE SAME GENERALSHAPE AS THE BODY PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER, MEANS FORSTIFFENING THE BODY SECTION OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER IN ZONESTRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF THE SKIRT, AND FASTENING MEANS SECURING THEHEM PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER TO THE HEM SECTION OF THE INNERSKIRT MEMBER, THE LENGTH OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER BEING SO RELATED TOTHAT OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER THAT, IN USE OF THE SKIRT, THE INNERSKIRT MEMBER IS HELD IN TENSION BY THE WEIGHT OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBERACTING UPON IT THEREBY ENABLING THE BODY SECTION OF THE INNER SKIRTMEMBER TO DISPLACE OUTWARDLY THE BODY PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBERTO IMPART THERETO THE DESIRED BOWL SHAPE.